Done!!

Winter quarter is over, and so is the commute! From now till June all that awaits is one classroom full of yelling screaming balls of emotion, energy, and endearment. I am very excited about this next quarter of school. Spring is my favorite season, and it is also the season for new beginnings. With the change of scenery, it will truly feel like a new beginning. I am nervous, but I know that whatever happens I will have a good experience. Hopefully next fall I will have a job, and this coming quarter will be a pleasant memory.

Dear to me.

Last night at bible study, we were going through the second chapter of first Thessalonians. There is a part in that chapter where Paul is addressing the church as a father to a child. He expresses how dear the brethren there at Thessaloníki are to him and his traveling companions.

Out of this passage, a discussion arose about how it is unusual for men to share their feelings as such. It is not often that you hear a man tell his friends that they are dear to him. I am here to rectify that.(at least on my part)

I just want to let all of my brothers and friends (and especially Nessy) know that you are dear to me. Though I am not permitted conversation as often or for as long as I would like with each of you, I carry you in my heart and think of you often. I thank you for your friendships, and can't wait 'til the next time we see each other.

I passed!!

The praxis exam is a nationwide exit test for college graduates that has recently been adopted by the State of Washington.

Soon I will be joining the ranks of folks with a piece of paper that certifies that I indeed have been through four years of school. Not only will I have completed four years of study, but I will also have fulfilled the requirements of the university and the state. The consummation of these requirements, realized through my course of study, approve me to be entrusted with the education of young minds who are dependent on the public school system in our state. But it is not enough to obtain this piece of paper. It is not enough to have gone to an accredited institution, completed an accredited course of study, and compiled a 3.8 grade point average in my combined major and minor areas of study.

On top of the thousands of dollars already invested to acquire an education, there is an exit test that covers what I have already proved that I know well, as evidenced by a 3.8 GPA. The test, which cost $190.00, is actually two tests, one testing my major course of study, and the other my minor course of study.

It was a pain(it took up a whole Saturday), completely unnecessary, and outrageously expensive, but I passed both tests, and even received a certificate of excellence. I don't know what good that certificate will do, because it holds no value other than telling me that I know what I know that I know.

Just another piece of paper to file away. Glad to have it out of the way.
I'm tired of all these hoops, just let me teach already.

Do you like green grass?

This weekend while at a wedding, I heard a very good insight into attitude and perspective. The minister was speaking on the sanctity marriage and how these days people seem to have the attitude that says, "I'll stay in this pasture until I find greener pastures." He referred to the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side," noting that so often in life we are looking for that greener grass.

Then he said something profound. He said, "the grass is only as green as we are willing to make it."

In order to have a gorgeous green lawn, you have to work diligently at it. It is a dedicated process that requires a concerted effort in order to achieve the optimum result.

I thought to myself, "Self, that is so true." So many times we look for "hand-outs" when we have the resources and responsibility to do for ourselves what others have done for themselves. If the "grass" is greener on the other side, then it is because we are focusing on the end result of someone else's labor instead of focusing on the task at hand, and diligently seeking to make our own "grass" greener.

I really liked this illustration because that saying, that the grass is always greener in somebody else's yard, is so often said in various situations, but there is never any context as to why the grass is greener somewhere else. By putting the saying in context, we are empowered to do something to make our own "grass" greener, whatever that "grass" may be.

Muy Caliendo!

The other night my wife, sister in law and I were all introduced to Frank Caliendo by our friend Eric. This man does an awesome John Madden, and a funny George W., Enjoy!

GO Colts!

I am one-hundred percent rooting for the Colts today. Da Bears are good, but not good enough (I hope.)

Good luck to all you Colts fans!

To all the rest of you, I hope you lose.

Kiri Davis

My brother posted a news clip about this. Here is the actual documentary. It is seven minutes long and very shocking to me. I have never thought of people as being bad or good based on the color of their skin, but I do know that I have grown up as a Hispanic American in an Anglo-American society. I realize after reflecting on this video that I too grew up with a negative self-image that I still struggle with even today. I think it is even more blatant for my dad, but I admire the way he handles himself and does not take a victim mentality. It is clear from this video that many children are very much put down systematically by the very culture they live in. This is not a black and white issue, it is much bigger than that. Issues of this magnitude are hard to deal with because we are all guilty in some form or another. We would like to think, or at least I would, that we have nothing to do with this. I think if we examine ourselves very closely, we can all eventually see that this is not the case, but instead we have perhaps subconsciously accepted these beliefs as the way things are. This is earth shattering! It seems we believe this stuff to some degree otherwise these kids would not act in such a manner.

In the documentary Ms. Davis conveys that this has been going on for quite some time, but it is even longer than she alludes to. The apostle Paul in the book of Galatians wrote "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Paul ,the apostle, addressed the very same issue 2000 years ago! It's amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same. I believe that this does not have to be, but it takes a purposeful effort to bring about change. Change cannot and will not happen on its own. We have to want change. We have to encourage it, and we must purpose it. I encourage us to examine our attitudes and thoughts, however subtle, and purpose to change them and more fully align them to the words of Jesus in the book of Matthew, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

Want some taco sauce with that?

Taco Bell is not a place I go to often, in fact I haven't been to Taco Bell since before Thanksgiving. I don't really eat fast food much, and if I do it is usually Wendy's, but Taco Bell's sauce packets are kind of funny. Here are two of my favorites.

In reference to the second sauce packet, "Sometimes it's just your time, little buddy."

Pics from the drive.

Ellensburg is cold this time of year, here are a few pictures from the drive. These pictures aren't of snow as you can tell from the bare roadway, instead the fog freezes onto the trees, fences, and phone wires making for a pretty awesome display.

Birds of Prey

The other day I saw a Bald Eagle as I was driving to school. It was in a tree with a bunch of crows. I thought that was weird, but I couldn't stop to investigate more thoroughly because I was in a rush. It's not everyday that you see a bald eagle hanging out with some crows, perched in a tree by the side of the road. I wish I would have been able to sit there and watch for a while.

Not too many days prior while Lisa and I were out a strolling through the woods, we were surprised to see a Great Horned Owl perched in a tree down the way from us. He noticed us pretty quickly and flew around the bend, where we saw him again before he flew away for good. It was so exciting. He was so big, and I had never seen one alive before.

Birds of prey are so elusive and so beautiful. I'm always awed by their presence whenever I encounter them. If I had time, I think I would seek them out more often, but for now I'll have to count my blessings for having caught a glimpse of these majestic winged predators, and keep my eyes peeled for future sightings.

A healthy dose of laughter

I was reading a blog post the other day and it started me thinking about that verse in the bible that says, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

So many times in life we hear negative, sarcastic, or unpleasant words, when all we want to hear are pleasant words. My sister also recently wrote that words are powerful. I agree with that statement, and I sumbit that how one uses words is just as powerful. A bossy tone, a rude tone, a happy tone, a pleasant tone, a selfish tone, or any tone for that matter can be applied to any phrase and change the whole meaning of the phrase depending on the attitude with which it is spoken. In working with children I have learned that how we make someone feel with our words is just as important as what we have to say with our words. The phrase "let's get to work," can either empower a child or deflate them depending on the tone with which it is delivered. We all encounter situations in which we would love to have a good time but we become offended because we were offended by the rude or offensive speech or actions of another. When that happens we have the power to choose "pleasant words" and break what seems to be a compounding negative cycle before it escalates to "good time" ending rut. Those ruts are so hard to get out of, yet so easy to avoid, kind of ironic I guess. It's good to know that we can choose in those situations between being offended or being a source of pleasant words.

School, and again I say.....school...

I am currently enrolled in my final academic quarter of study at Central Washington University. That statement isn't entirely true. To be correct I would have to say that it is my next to last academic quarter of study. I still have one quarter of classroom teaching practicum to be completed this spring, and I graduate in June. I can't wait. No more driving the snowy pass, and no more juggling books and schedules of the various classes I'm taking. I will be able to drive a short way, 15 minutes at the most, to the school where I will finally engage in my teaching practicum. What a welcome relief from the daily hour each way that I currently drive to and from school.

Concurrently this quarter I am enrolled in a firefighter "red card/firefighter I "class as part of my responsibilities as a volunteer for the fire department. I have already taken this extensive course at least twice, and maybe as many as three times, I hope that I can challenge the course, or I will be bored out of my mind. Maybe I will just take the opportunity to do classwork from my college classes if I am not able to avoid sitting through the monotonous required lectures for wildland firefighting. Whatever the case I am confident that I will pass all aspects of the course, and hopefully this summer I will enjoy fighting wildfires again.

Snow, Snow Shoeing, and Christmas Tree Hunting!

Last week whilst Seattle was being pounded by fierce winds, Dryden was sustaining an onslaught of snow. The picture above is an image of the aftermath of a blizzard that left behind twelve inches of fluffy white frozen powder. It hasn't snowed like that around here since 1996. I thought the public schools might close their door for a day, but it turns out that this weather was not enough to shut down our community's schools. A few folks lost power, including my parents, and a house did catch fire, but our volunteer fire department was able to squelch the blaze before any serious harm was done, and electricity was restored within twenty-four hours.


This week Lisa and I were finally able to go out and enjoy the new fluffy white stuff by snow shoeing on Blewett Pass with a couple friends from Ellensburg and their dog Riley(not pictured). We had an excellent time, although with the amount of snow on the pass it was difficult to find a turnout that hadn't been rendered unturnoutable by the Department of Transportation's monstrous snow moving equipment. It was a fun and tiring hike, and afterwards we went back to our friends' place to warm up and have some hot cocoa.

Also this past week Lisa and I went Christmas tree hunting. We left a little late in the day, so by the time we made it to our tree hunting destination it was dark out. We couldn't find a tree to our liking at there,and had just about given in to the fact that maybe it was not our day to find a tree, but we climbed back in the truck determined not to go home empty handed. We drove about twenty miles up to Camas Meadows where we trugded through the snow to find a gem. All of the trees were caked heavily with snow, and because it was dark we had a difficult time actually seeing the quality of the trees. We prayed that God would help us find one, and about ten minutes later we finally found what we thought could be the one. I shook it vigorously, receiving most of the frozen precipitation from it's branches on my head and shoulders. With my headlamp coolly illuminating it's now snow-bare branches, I studied the tree. It was perfect, and just the right size, thank God! The evening was cold and dark, and the roads treacherous, but the trip was worth it. I cut the tree down, and it now stands adorned in our living room.

It's that time again...

I am Finally finished with the busiest quarter ever, and some of my grades are even back. They read like so:
A
A
A-
B+
Satisfactory

And there are still three more pending. I hope the pending results are all as equally plausible as these results.

I'm glad I finally have time to post on here. I have also applied for graduation. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is growing brighter with every passing day. Soon enough, I will be done with this program and out in the workforce. I can't wait!

Revival Hymn

This video is long, but if you have the time, I recommend watching it. I even recommend making time to watch it.

Remember Azuza?

This site is a great resource for vintage sermons from the past hundred years, and they are all downloadable free of charge.

A Profound Thought

We teach our children not to be afraid of the dark, but the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light.
- Criminal Minds, 10-25-2006

Dolemite Jenkins aka Clinton Portis

This is total silliness, good stuff

Click here for video

A weekend in Stehekin

Last weekend I went up to Stehekin with my wife and her folks and sister, and Oksana. It was the first time since Brenda broke her neck that she has been able to go some place like this. We had a great time as we visited the Stehekin Pastry Company and purchased all kinds of edible goodies. We also visited the breathtaking Rainbow Falls, which are probably 400 feet high. We saw bear poop, salmon, a deer, a run over squirrel, and even a bear. The town has a small history and we were able to learn about that too. We were even able to tour the one room school house which is unbeleivable. We stayed in a nice cabin owned by some wonderful people, the Pitts, who we were able to go out to dinner with. We ate dinner at a beautiful ranch in a dining room with a sawdust floor. I wish I would have taken a picture of the ranch as we arrived with the sun setting. The location of that homestead was selected very carefully. We drove up a draw and the sun was going down so we couldn't really see any sunlight, but when we reached the ranch it was like the canyon took a turn and left the property exposed to the most magnificent sunset which stretched across a golden field of dry grass and shone on the edge of a clearing where the lodge with the dining room stood as if emerging from a stand of trees. Like I said, I wish I would have taken a picture, but all I have is my memory and these words. here are some pictures I did take. I almost forgot to mention that Lisa has connections, and captained the ferry that we took home. enjoy.

Last weekend!

Last weekend was a crazy one. I took the car over to Saturn of Bellevue and had a minor issue fixed because it was under warranty there. Traffic was unbeleivable it took me one hour just to drive a 15 mile stretch, it's a good thing I don't do that everyday like some people do. My father in law accompanied me and on the way back we decided that since we had some time we would go for a hike. we hiked to Bridal Veil falls, which is just below Lake Serene, off of Highway two. Here are some pictures(click image to enlarge)





Then we went to a men's retreat where we were able to chill out and have some good fellowship.





I'm glad I was able to hang out with my father in law, it was a good bonding time, and we had a lot of fun. We even skipped rocks on Lake Wenatchee.

Lisa's and my domicile

I finally have pictures to post. We are renting, but this house is a really good deal as we are renting from my dad, and he is being very generous with us. The tenants before us were smokers who did not pay attention to the rental agreement that prohibited smoking inside the house. So Lisa and I repainted the whole interior of the house with help from various amiable individuals whom we dearly appreciate.
The house comes complete with a garage, automatic sprinklers, a fireplace, and a basement, but no linen closets...none. It will be my husbandly duty to rectify this situation as soon as I can....
....There is something about living in an actual house that is freeing, yet binding all at once. When I lived in an apartment I was confined to a small space, but now in a house I have my own yard(to mow), and various little odd jobs to do. It makes me feel so manly to be able to work on and around the house, even if it does belong to my dad.

The front of the house.The yard could use some weeding, but it has plenty of potential.

The livingroom, it is quite large.(and beautiful with my wife standing there)

The kitchen, being used to make a goodbye meal for my brother right before he left for school.

The other half of the living room..

The dining room is quite large, we will figure out what to do with all the space I'm sure.

Back in place, and I'm all up in your face....

A great many things have happened in this last month. Lisa and I have officially moved to Dryden(pictures forthcoming.) We have been hiking, I earned strait A's for the summer, and now we are unpacking after fixing up a house that desperately needed some TLC. Soon we will be unpacked, all moved in, and we hope to have a little shindig to kick things of here at the new place. Please enjoy the pictures, sorry there aren't any of the house yet. but I will hopefully get around to that soon. These are just snipits from the past month or so.


This was the view I woke up to when I recently went up to Colchuck Lake to meet my uncle and cousins. They ditched me so I spent the night by myself. It turned out ok.


This is from that same trip, this little guy would not leave me alone until I took his picture. Looks like he's been eating well.


This is how we moved all of our stuff to Dryden, we only made one trip.


This was a little earlier at Lake Clara, a jaunt that Lisa and I made with my brother


and finally this is beautiful Pete Lake in the morning. Lisa and I roughed it for two nights with a couple of friends here at this hidden paradise (except for the bugs.)

Free at last, Free at last...Part II

It was the coolest thing, the sun was setting, and a man was quietly playing a flute at Lion's Rock. I captured it with my digital camera, which happens to take pretty decent video as well. Have a look and listen. Enjoy!

Free at last, Free at last....

This is Lisa and I's final weekend in our modest apartment here in Ellensburg. Next weekend we will move all of our belongings to my parents basement, because the house we are moving to has not been vacated on time. It should only be a week or so I hope, not because I don't want to live with my parents, but because it would be nice to get settled in to our new place. I am excited for the change.

This weekend Lisa and I stayed in Ellensburg, though we wished we could have been with my family on a camping trip to Lake Osoyoos. We were able to work, make some extra money, and explore the local outdoors. The following are some pictures we took at Lion's Rock, which is a 22 mile drive out of Ellensburg.



This is on the way up, pretty neat huh?



This also is on the way there, only after the previous picture.



This is Mt. Stewart, and the Cascades.



This is Mando, Lisa, and Mt. Stewart



What you can't tell from these pictures is that there were like 300 star gazers camping up there with all their motor homes and star gazing equipment, I could not believe it. We'll have to go back some time when it's less crowded, but the view was still amazing as you can see.

Oh Beautiful, for Spacious Skies...

Today is Independence Day. What does that mean anyway? We all know that it is the day that the 13 colonies declared their independence from King George III of England, but what does that mean to us? If it weren't for those 56 bold signers of the Declaration of Independence, what would life be like today? Our founding father's had a vision for how this day was to be remembered.

In a letter to his wife Abagail
John Adams had this to say about July 4, 1776(he was mistaken by two days):

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

So, at least one of our founding fathers believed that the "Fourth" should be Devoted to solemnly celebrating God for our deliverance from British Rule.

The preamble of the declaration states:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Even our Declaration of Independence celebrates our Creator as the giver of rights that are unalienable by any man.

Let's honor their memory today and honor God as we celebrate the aniversary of our country's independence from British tyranical rule.